Woman ruins Spanish fresco in restoration attempt

The original painting of Ecco Homo by painter Elias Garcia Martinez and its transformation. (Centro de estudios Borjanos)

A 19th century fresco has been ruined by an elderly Spanish woman who attempted to restore the mural.

The unnamed woman, said to be in her 80s, was attempting to fix Ecco Homo by painter Elias Garcia Martinez. The painting, a sophisticated depiction of Jesus with the crown of thorns around his head, has been transformed into an amateurish, almost cartoon-like portrait.

The woman had never received permission for the restoration work.

The U.K.'s Independent reported that the damage was discovered after Martinez's granddaughter made a donation to the Centro de Estudios Borjanos, which holds an archive of local religious artworks.

When staff went to check on the work at the Santuario de Misericodia church in Borja, near Zaragoza in northeastern Spain, they discovered the painting had been altered, the paper reported.

Culture councillor Juan Maria de Ojeda told the Spanish newspaper El Pais that the woman said she had "good intentions." But he added that "she had gotten out of hand."

The artwork is said to have little artistic importance, the Independent reported, but it did have some local sentimental value.